In the food industry there is a constant demand for the production of additives, whether naturally occurring or synthetic, which are capable of imparting desirable characteristics to foodstuffs. It is common in some segments of the industry to add flavor agents to enhance or bring out a desirable characteristic in products and by so doing, render the product more desirable from a consumer preference standpoint.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,395,021 issued to Glicksman, et al., teaches a dry fruit flavor beverage mix containing edible acids such as citric, tartaric, adipic, and fumaric acids. These acids in combination with a gum system produce a product which is similar in flavor and mouthfeel to a fresh fruit beverage. The acids provide tartness in the reconstituted beverage.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,736,150 entitled "Beverage Containing Egg Albumen and Amino Acid" issued to Basso, et al., teaches the addition of egg albumen and an amino acid (glycine) to a dry beverage mix, where the egg albumen and glycine are present as the major sources of protein. The glycine also serves an additional function as a flavor enhancer, masking the objectionable egg odor and taste, resulting in a product that is substantially indistinguishable from a similar beverage with all the protein omitted.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,649,298 entitled "Carbonation Concentrates For Beverages and Process of Producing Carbonated Beverages" issued to Kreevoy teaches a dry beverage mix containing n-carboxy-amino acid anhydride in combination with the disodium salts of n-carboxy-amino acid producing a carbonated beverage.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,510,310 entitled "Artificially Sweetened Beverages and Mixtures Thereof" issued to Breckwoldt teaches a dry beverage mix comprising an edible water-soluble amino carboxylic acid (e.g., glycine, lysine, methionine, etc.). This mix is reconstituted to provide a beverage having a taste and texture similar to the beverage sweetened with sugar. This invention purports to solve the adverse problem associated with artificially sweetened beverages in overcoming the lack of texture and mouthfeel that is inherent in such a beverage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,259 entitled "Process of Preparing Nutritive Sweetening Compositions" issued to Lugay, et al., teaches a process for improving the solubility and stability of dipeptide nutritive sweeteners comprising co-drying an amino acid derived nutritive sweetener with a low molecular weight polypeptide, preferably an enzymatically hydrolyzed non-gelatin protein, wherein the ratio of sweetener to polypeptide is from about 1:1 to about 1:20.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,974 entitled "Amino Acids as Dry Beverage Mix Ingredients" issued to Schenz, teaches a method of producing an enhanced flavor impact and an improved mouth feel character in a dry beverage mix comprising the addition of amino acids. The specific amino acids which would produce the effect were L-proline, L-asparagine, L-aspartic acid, L-arginine, .gamma.-amino-n-butyric acid, L-alanine, L-glutamine and combinations thereof. The level of incorporation of the amino acids in a dry mix varies from 0.1% to 8% on a dry weight basis.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,975 entitled "Improved Fruit Flavored Beverages" issued also to Schenz, et al., teaches alteration of the flavor and mouthfeel character in dry beverage mixes through the addition of a protein hydrolyzate which must be soluble at acid pH's, be bland, and possess no appreciable off flavors or odors. The disclosure contemplates the addition of proteins which have been either chemically or enzymatically hydrolyzed and derived from either animal or vegetable matter.
It is thus obvious that the prior art appreciates the importance of amino acids as flavor contributors to fruit juices which in themselves contain from 1-9% proteinaceous material on a dry weight basis. It does not, however, teach or appreciate the utilization of protein in combination with an emulsifier to create a resultant impact on flavor and mouth feel character which is more juice-like than in prior disclosures.
There has been a constant demand in the food art for the production of a formulated beverage, whether it be a dry beverage mix, ready-to-drink beverage or beverage concentrate which would contain a flavor and mouthfeel more akin to a real fruit juice. We today disclose a novel method to meet this objective which does not require utilization of amino acids.